commute from Alexandria/Seminary rd to north Bethesda (Arlington, Huntington: home, schools)

[GovtWorker]

I'll be starting a new job in north Bethesda, how long is the return commute to Alexandria near seminary rd? I'm not too worried about the morning drive to north Bethesda since I'll be on the road before 6am but the trip home has me worried. I'll be leaving work at 430 - 500 every day. Any help would be appreciated.

[GovtWorker]

No one has this commute or something similar? Anyone?

[Carlingtonian]

I used to work in Rockville (aka "North Bethesda") and lived in Arlington, as I do now. The return home wasn't unbearable, just hairy. I would usually take 270 to 495 to GWMP but would sometimes bail out at Clara Barton and cut through DC via Sangamore/MacArthur/Arizona/Canal to the Chain Bridge and on to Glebe. There were times it was trafficky, but it wasn't despair-inducing, like what those poor slobs heading north to Gaithersburg at 5 mph were enduring.

Getting to Seminary would not be too different a route from what I did--just cut over to George Mason somewhere from Glebe and take that south. Or stay on GWMP till Duke Street.

You're definitely better off working as early a shift as possible. If you're leaving home at 6AM, you should be there by 7--which means they should let you leave for home at 3:30, right?

[GovtWorker]

Originally Posted by Carlingtonian

I used to work in Rockville (aka "North Bethesda") and lived in Arlington, as I do now. The return home wasn't unbearable, just hairy. I would usually take 270 to 495 to GWMP but would sometimes bail out at Clara Barton and cut through DC via Sangamore/MacArthur/Arizona/Canal to the Chain Bridge and on to Glebe. There were times it was trafficky, but it wasn't despair-inducing, like what those poor slobs heading north to Gaithersburg at 5 mph were enduring.

Getting to Seminary would not be too different a route from what I did--just cut over to George Mason somewhere from Glebe and take that south. Or stay on GWMP till Duke Street.

You're definitely better off working as early a shift as possible. If you're leaving home at 6AM, you should be there by 7--which means they should let you leave for home at 3:30, right?

Yeah I can start at 7am and I'll get off at 430. I'd be working 9 hour days so that every other week I'll get a day off. I'd also get to telework one day a week. So I'd go in to the office 4 days one week, 3 days the next and alternate like that.

Thanks for the tips, they'll definitely come in handy. Did you ever try taking the metro? Or is that not worth the hassle?

[e30is]

Originally Posted by GovtWorker

Yeah I can start at 7am and I'll get off at 430. I'd be working 9 hour days so that every other week I'll get a day off. I'd also get to telework one day a week. So I'd go in to the office 4 days one week, 3 days the next and alternate like that.

Thanks for the tips, they'll definitely come in handy. Did you ever try taking the metro? Or is that not worth the hassle?

Depends on how close you are to a metro station and the distance to your office in which you can tolerate.

[Carlingtonian]

Originally Posted by GovtWorker

Yeah I can start at 7am and I'll get off at 430. I'd be working 9 hour days so that every other week I'll get a day off. I'd also get to telework one day a week. So I'd go in to the office 4 days one week, 3 days the next and alternate like that.

Thanks for the tips, they'll definitely come in handy. Did you ever try taking the metro? Or is that not worth the hassle?

I went back and forth. When gas first jumped above $2.50 a gallon back in 2005 or 2006, that pushed me onto the Metro. But it was a longer and sometimes tedious commute. (My big beef was when WMATA would have the red line skip Twinbrook--my stop!--without warning. That and the wee hellions from the charter schools, wrestling in the aisle.) That said, I did get to read.

Since you're a fellow govie, I'd venture that financially you might be better off taking Metro, since it's paid for. OTOH, from Baileys Xroads, you would have to bus it to a Metrorail stop (or drive to Huntington and park, on your own dime), and that additional time might not be worth the savings. Then again, it sounds like you're only going to have to go into the office 3 days a week (lucky you!), so that cuts your gas bill already.